Compare Speakerlab 4s to Speakerlab 6s

[Kay Jones]

Has anyone owned both Speakerlab's 4s and 6s, or are familiar enough with them, to compare the sound characteristics of the two models against each other? I am the original owner of some 7s and I am looking to present someone one with a gift of either 4s or 6s.

Both share the same cabinet size, 65 pound weight, HT3500 horn tweeter and W1208R twelve inch woofer. The differences are in the midrange and crossover: the 4 has an M608R (six inch cone) while the 6 has a HM700B (fifteen inch horn). The 6 is derived from the celebrated 7, the difference being the 6 does not have the additional ten inch woofer.

It appears the 6 was only made for two years and is relatively rare. The 4 is more available for purchase as the horn version had a seven year year run.

A secondary question: the horn 4 had an upgrade to a WA4000 (wave aperature) tweeter for two years. Speakerlab stated this was an improvement over the HT3500. For those familiar with both configurations, what did your ears say?

 

[nerdorama]

Sorry, I'm a little late. Never had 4's but built S6's in college. I always wanted to like them but never really warmed to them. The bass is underdamped from the too small box and the horns always seemed a bit shouty and glaring to me. The quality of the drivers was very good. I rebuilt them with boxes having about twice the volume which made a huge improvement in the clarity of the bass and it seemed to go lower as well. I made them with the same footprint but taller. I also mounted the horns vertically and inline. I think that helped with imaging a bit. I think Speakerlab voiced their speakers more for rock music and I prefer jazz and classical.

Did you get a pair of either model?
Best,
John

 

[safebet]

A secondary question: the horn 4 had an upgrade to a WA4000 (wave aperture) tweeter for two years. Speakerlab stated this was an improvement over the HT3500.

This too is a late response but I'll share my experience.

I couldn't afford the Speakerlab 4 kit but did purchase a set of M608R and WA4000 tweeters along with associated crossover parts. The M608R was closer to 5 inches and had a pretty long throw, as I recall it seemed like a larger version of the Minimus 7 woofer. The WA4000 used an EV T-35 style diaphragm, featured an Alnico magnet and was quite good sounding with a constant directivity dispersion profile. The recommended crossover was 12dB/octave at 4000 Hz.

Interestingly, Speakerlab stated that a pair of 9.1 volt zener diodes wired back to back in series were required across the voice coil of the WA4000 to protect against burnout. I burned the diodes out, probably after cranking them at a high school dance (had them in cabinets with 2 12 " woofers each) but the tweeters kept on playing!

I did obtain horns similar to Speakerlab 6 and will say prefer the cone driver by comparison. The horn is louder but not nearly as even sounding as the cone driver.